Green Entrepreneurs to be Recognized with $5000 in New Quarterly Award from Green America

July 9th Deadline Set to Nominate Green Companies With a Focus on Community Action; Award Recognizes Leading Green Innovators and Can Be Used as Winners See Fit

June 26, 2012

WASHINGTON, DC -- Do you run an innovative green business that deserves to be recognized for its work in the community? Do you use your spending power to support a local company that is committed to the environment and also giving back to your town or city? If so, you will want to submit a nomination to the first quarterly “People & Planet Award,” which is sponsored by the nonprofit Green America.

Nominations will be accepted online at http://www.greenamerica.org/green-business-people-and-planet-award/index.cfm through July 9, 2012. Green businesses with fewer than 50 employees that are working to benefit their community may be nominated. After the nomination period closes, a panel of Green America judges will narrow the field to 10 finalists. Public voting will begin on August 2, 2012 and close on September 4, 2012. After the votes are tallied, the first group of three quarterly winners will be announced during the week of September 17th.

The new quarterly “People and Planet Awards” will recognize innovative entrepreneurial U.S. businesses that deeply integrate environmental and social considerations into their strategies and operations. Each quarter, three nominated green businesses will go on to win a $5000 cash award. Winners must demonstrate excellence in a facet of the green economy as chosen by Green America for that quarter. The awards categories will reflect Green America’s broad definition of a “green economy”: one that works for both people and the planet.

Alisa Gravitz, executive director, Green America, said: “We are pleased to be able to encourage and honor businesses who are working hard to benefit their communities, their workers and the environment. Thanks to the generous donation of a longtime supporter, Green America will be able to award $15,000 each quarter to boost the green economy. In this tough economy, we know that $5,000 can go a long way to help sustain and grow an innovative green company.”

The first round of the Awards will focus on green businesses that also have a community action component. Examples could include: a green cafe that donates organic waste to a local composting program, a solar installer with a program giving job-experience to local at-risk youth, or an organic farm that donates produce to the local homeless shelter.

Future rounds of the quarterly Awards will focus on clean energy, workplace innovations, and other sustainability practices.

GREEN AMERICA is the nation’s leading green economy organization. Founded in 1982, Green America (formerly Co-op America) provides the economic strategies, organizing power and practical tools for businesses and individuals to solve today's social and environmental problems. www.GreenAmerica.org